1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the invention relate to remote booting of an information-processing device, and more particularly to a method of and an apparatus for informing a user of an information-processing device about the setting state of a Wake-on-LAN (WOL) function that can remotely boot and operate a system of the information-processing device, and enable the user to change the setting of the WOL function.
2. Description of the Related Art
Desktop computers and mobile computers typically have a Wake-on-LAN (WOL) function. The WOL function enables a network administrator to remotely boot a computer or switch a computer from a power-saving mode to a normal mode. If the network administrator can remotely boot computers on a network and carry out desired tasks on the remote computers using one computer at his or her location, there is no need for the network administrator to visit each computer on the network. The WOL function is executed by transmitting a wake-up frame or packet, also known as a magic frame or packet, from a server, on which a remote management application has been installed, on a network to each client computer on the network that is to be remotely controlled. When a network card in each client computer receives the wake-up frame or packet, the client computer is started. Therefore, to implement the WOL function, a network card that supports the WOL function must be installed in a client computer, which must have a main board that supports the WOL function, in addition to installing the remote management application on the server.
The WOL function described above may be enabled or disabled according to settings in a basic input/output system (BIOS) and an operating system (OS) of a client computer that is to be remotely controlled. A process of enabling the WOL function in the OS will now be described with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 shows a process of enabling the WOL function according to the related art. It will be assumed that, in the BIOS, the WOL function is enabled in a standby mode and a hibernation mode among a plurality of sleeping modes, but is not enabled in a shutdown mode.
To enable the WOL function in the OS, a device manager window 10 is opened. Then, a window 20 for setting properties of a LAN card network adapter is opened. In this example, it is assumed that the OS of a client computer is Microsoft Windows®. Next, a power management tab in the window 20 for setting the properties of the LAN card is clicked, and an item “Allow this device to bring the computer out of standby” is checked. To shut down the system of the client computer, a standby mode or a hibernation mode is selected in a shutdown window 30. Accordingly, the system of the client computer is shut down with the WOL function being enabled, thereby enabling the system of the client computer to wake up later in response to a wake-up frame or packet transmitted from a server having a remote management application.
However, when shutting down the system of the client computer, a user of the client computer cannot easily determine whether the WOL function is enabled or disabled in the client computer. Therefore, the following problems may occur.
First, if the client computer is left unused for a long time while the WOL function is enabled, there may be a security problem in that a third party can break into the client computer and execute tasks and obtain data without authorization.
Second, if the client computer is left unused for a long time while the WOL function is enabled, even though it is in one of the sleeping modes (such as “hibernation mode” or “standby mode”) that support the WOL function, the power consumption may still be high since the memory or hard disk of the client computer is turned on during the sleeping mode. If the client computer is a portable laptop computer, this may cause a drain on the battery and shorten the battery life between charges.
Third, since the user may not be aware that the WOL function is enabled, the client computer may suddenly turn on at times that are undesirable to the user, or may periodically turn on.
Fourth, it may be necessary for the user to frequently determine whether the WOL function is enabled or disabled, and enable the WOL function only when necessary to prevent the above problems. However, this process of frequently determining whether the WOL function is enabled or disabled is a cumbersome task.